The Alchemy Classroom.
Lucien gave the door a sharp knock. This was the venue for the Hogwarts internal qualifiers, where two students would be chosen to represent the school at the Three-School Exchange Tournament in Beauxbatons.
"Come in."
The voice was faint and sounded incredibly lazy.
Lucien pushed the door open, and every pair of eyes in the room immediately snapped toward him.
"Everyone's here. The trial begins now. You have three hours to balance an Elemental Harmonizer, craft a Fire-and-Waterproof Tunic, and improve an Emotion-Sensing Color-Changing Badge."
Lucien reflexively looked toward the source of the voice. Behind the podium sat a luxurious sofa that looked completely out of place in a classroom. A woman was leaning back in it, looking utterly relaxed.
She wore plain gray robes, and her thick, curly black hair spilled messily over her shoulders. No sooner had she finished announcing the tasks than she pulled on a pitch-black sleep mask. Between the hair and the mask, her face was almost entirely obscured.
"Right then... carry on. Be safe. I'm going to take a nap."
With that, the woman fell silent.
Lucien blinked. He had never seen a professor with this kind of "style" before. This was Angela Shafiq, the Alchemy Professor at Hogwarts. A member of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, she was rarely seen around the castle, typically only appearing for major events.
"Grafton..."
Out of the corner of his eye, Lucien saw someone waving and calling his name softly. It was a seventh-year Ravenclaw, Ellie Yaxley. He walked over to the alchemy bench next to hers and gave a polite nod.
"You haven't taken Alchemy yet, so you wouldn't know," Ellie whispered. "But this is just Professor Shafiq's way. She believes in 'independent study.' You'll get used to it."
Independent study? Lucien thought. It looks more like she's just letting us run wild.
Ellie gestured to the tools on the bench. "Just follow the instructions. If you get stuck on the equipment, let me know." She liked this junior; he was handsome, brilliant, and polite, so she didn't mind being helpful.
"Understood. Thanks, Ellie," Lucien said. She gave him a small smile and turned back to her work.
Actually, most of the students who were serious about Alchemy had already glimpsed Lucien's skill through his inventions. No one was surprised to see him there, and certainly, no one was going to question his right to compete.
The competition began in earnest.
Lucien first focused on the Elemental Harmonizer. It looked like a set of scales, but the top featured four diamond-shaped crystals representing Water, Fire, Earth, and Air. These were connected by clear quartz tubes, and the four elements flowed into the pans on either side.
Currently, the ratios of the four elements were a chaotic mess. Balancing them was a test of a student's fundamental control over the elements—the "basics" of alchemy.
He drew his wand. Thin threads of magic extended from the tip, and as they touched the crystals, the wavy patterns on Lucien's fingers began to glow. He felt an instant resonance with the Water crystal; it felt as natural as moving his own arm.
In just two or three breaths, the Water element was perfectly calibrated. As he adjusted the others, he used the Water element to catalyze the reactions, reaching equilibrium much faster. This wasn't a standard textbook move; it required a level of elemental affinity that most alchemists could only dream of.
Elemental Runes really are a cheat code, Lucien thought. If I can collect the runes for all four elements, my alchemy will probably hit a whole new level.
He finished the Harmonizer in record time and, without needing a break, dove straight into the next task.
---
"Professor, I've finished."
Hearing this, Professor Shafiq pulled off her sleep mask. Her light gray eyes, still heavy with sleep, didn't look at Lucien first—they went straight to the clock on the wall.
"...I only slept—I mean, the trial has only been going for thirty minutes. You finished all three?"
Lucien nodded. The Harmonizer was easy, and as for crafting and improving items? Practice makes perfect. With the Emerald Tablet shards boosting his talent to SS+, he had spent the last six months doing nothing but designing and building alchemical gear. Today was just a warm-up.
He flicked his wand, making the three items float over to the professor for inspection.
Despite her laziness, Shafiq sharpened up. She pulled a pair of heavy, black-rimmed glasses from her pocket and perched them on her nose.
"Hmm... the elemental balance is perfect..."
"The tunic is at the absolute limit of what these materials can achieve..."
"The badge... wait, how did you even think to improve the sensory loop like this?"
Lucien opened his mouth to explain, but Shafiq cut him off.
"Stop. Don't tell me. You young people have better brains for this; an old-timer like me needs her rest." She squinted through her thick lenses, studying him. "You're the boy who got the medal the other day, aren't you? Impressive. Very impressive."
Suddenly, Professor Shafiq hopped to her feet and headed for the door. She stopped just before leaving and tapped the sofa with her wand; it shrank instantly and flew into her pocket.
"Lucien Grafton, right? You've passed. You represent the school. Since you're done, you stay here and watch the rest of them. Pick the second representative for me, okay? I'm going back to sleep—I mean, I have an important 'experiment' to attend to. Good luck, Lucien!"
Professor Shafiq vanished like a gust of wind, her voice trailing off as she hurried down the hall.
Lucien stood at the podium, stunned. Wait... did I just go from contestant to judge?
Professor Shafiq was... certainly something. But he realized she hadn't given him any grading criteria. Was he supposed to just make it up? He felt like he had just been tricked into doing her job.
He slowly turned to look at the other contestants. The seniors were all staring back at him, their faces a collective mask of confusion.
A giant, invisible question mark seemed to hang over everyone's head.
---